PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – The Fairfield University rowing programs opened the 2026 spring schedule at the Jesuit Invitational, a competition that included Fairfield, The College of the Holy Cross, Loyola University Maryland, Saint Joseph's University, and host Fordham University.
The men's team sent entries into the varsity 4, the second varsity 8, and the varsity 8. The varsity 4 was the first to compete for the Stags which took second place by finishing the course in 8:12.3 which was three seconds off the pace set by Saint Joseph's (8:09.5). The Fairfield boat included Zachary Siwiec,
Matthew Benestad,
Maxim Tsavaris,
Tyler Siwiec, and coxswain
Max Cona.
The second varsity 8 also brought home silver with their time of 6:47.2, second only to Saint Joseph's time of 6:44.6. The Stags were represented by Cord Catalano,
Samuel Elliott,
Owen Chandaria,
Connor Carroll,
Zalan Kovacs,
Luca Tarricone,
Eamon Tonna,
Luca Mellado, and coxswain
Cedric Wysocki.
The varsity 8 secured fourth place in its race by crossing the line in 6:43.2 with Saint Joseph's posting the best time of 6:23.4. The Fairfield boat was comprised by Grant Retelny,
William Talay,
Sean Rhatigan,
James Penczak,
Luke Youngblood,
Nicholas Tapinis,
Anthony Tapinis, Braden Gibbons, and coxswain
Madeline Gross.
The women's team competed in the women's third, second, and varsity 8 events as well as the varsity 4. The women's varsity second varsity time trails started the day with Fairfield placing fourth which placed the boat in the B final. The Stags posted a time of 8:45.6 in the trials before winning the B final with a time of 8:02.5. The entry consisted of Sasha Atencio, Sophie Counts, Miranda Schmidt, Cailey Chechitelli, Nora O'Connell, Caity Gregitis, Mia Van Mater, Sadie Eppinger, and coxswain Leah Murphy
The varsity 8 also finished fourth in its time trail by crossing the line in 7:53.0, sending the group to the B final. The Stags edged Loyola University Maryland by 13 seconds to finish first, crossing the line in 7:49.4. The Fairfield shell included Kelly Cullen, Grace McDonough, Audrey DiMarino, Shawn O'Brien, Sophia Savage, Zuzanna Janusz, Victoria Conrad, Molly Squire, and coxswain Lexi Tomlinson.
The third varsity 8 finished second in its event by finishing the course in 8:26.2, trailing Holy Cross' mark of 8:08.9. The Fairfield group included Jill Siegel, Molly Cleary, Zoey Ames, Grace Polatsek, Clair Jennings, Catherine Martin, Lauren Hoppe, Cate Quinones, and coxswain Emma Sieger.
The varsity 4 closed out the event by taking fourth overall with a time of 9:01.5. The Fairfield shell consisted of Gia Enderle, Julie Pedrazzi, Ava Bistoff, Ainsley Hoekzema, and coxswain Grace Tyszka.
The men's and women's rowing teams will compete next weekend at the Mountain Hawk Invitational, an event that will include Iona, Loyola, Lehigh, and Fairfield.
